Captive
by dreamlily
Summary: A bird with clipped wings can never fly from the cage that keeps it captive. The song bird's solemn melody can only cry off in the distance, waiting for the day someone finds it to set him free. ZeoXToby R&R, no flames please!


Captive:

_A bird with clipped wings can never fly from the cage that keeps it captive. The song bird's solemn melody can only cry off in the distance, waiting for the day someone finds it to set him free.~_

He ran throughout endless hollow hallways, the thudding of his shoes echoing off stone walls.

"Toby!" He cried out breathlessly, a mixture of tiredness and relief. He wasn't quite sure how long he had been searching, but that didn't matter. He had to make sure his friend was okay.

"Toby" turned to face him with a look of disdain, one eyebrow raised. He seemed to have no clue on what the boy was referring to.

"It's me, Zeo!" He exclaimed, cerulean eyes growing wide in concern. He had never seen his friend so emotionless before, literally acting as if he was a paper doll instead of a human being.

"Toby" gave him no more than a two second glance before turning his back, seeming focused on something else.

Zeo took a few steps forward to gaze down in shock. They were above a looming crater like indentation, energy emanating from within.

His shoulders shook in awe. He remembered seeing the devastating force the spiral force could cause when Dr. Ziggurat introduced it to the world.

Then his mind had been too focused on "Toby's" transformation to pay attention, but being up close gave a whole new dimension to how intimidating it's power was.

"We should get down from here, Toby." Zeo declared softly,voice quivering.

"I'm not Toby." He responded adamantly, shooting him a knife like glare.

Zeo stood frozen in place, not knowing what to say. Did his friend really bare no remembrance to the past at all?

"We're best friends, remember the days we spent at Dungeon?" Zeo pleaded in one last effort, tears stinging in his eyes.

"I'm not your friend, my name is Faust." He whispered, eyes tracing the circular rotation of his Beyblade below in the pit.

Zeo used his dark sleeve to wipe his tear stained face. Toby or Faust, whatever he wanted to call himself, was clearly detached to the world around him.

And being the type of person that Zeo was, loyal to a fault, there was no way he was going to leave his friend behind.

"Faust... we need to go." He spoke carefully, placing his hand on his shoulder.

Faust immediately jerked away from his grasp and threw Zeo's back against the railing.

He yelped as a jolt of pain ran up his spine, having less than a moment to recover before he was dragged up by his collar, and pinned to the rail.

"I don't care about your ramblings. My job is to keep tempo spinning. It's all I care about." Faust hissed, keeping stone-faced.

"You use to be so much more..." Zeo mumbled, feeling his heart break.

Faust was silent before a smirk crossed his face, eyes narrowing. "And you'll always be weak."

With that he pushed Zeo over the rail, not a slight hint of remorse evident in his cold eyes.

Zeo yelled helplessly, outstretching his hand to no avail. It was far too late, as he was sent plummeting to the ground below.

He winced, hand on his head as he struggled to sit up. What was going on? The area around him was submerged in a heavy dark mist.

"Zeo!" A voice cried from above, one that he recognized immediately.

"Toby!?" Zeo called out in surprise, wincing as he rose to his feet. For some reason it was difficult to breath, like an enormous weight was on top of his chest.

Hastily he scanned the area, trying to adjust his eyes to the pitch blackness. Finally he spotted something, a large golden bird cage suspended in mid air.

Toby was trapped inside, dressed in his blue hospital gown. He looked down with a pleading expression, pale hands clutched around his "prison" bars.

"I'll come get you!" Zeo yelled, hands cupped around his mouth as he tried to figure out a way to get up to him.

Toby shook his head weakly before mumbling something Zeo couldn't make out.

"It will be okay!" Zeo reassured, more for himself to calm down than anything.

"Do you honestly believe that?" A voice cackled from behind him, causing shivers to run up his spine.

"Damian?" He uttered, voice trembling as he spun around to see no one was there.

"So pathetic." Another voice snickered, which he recognized to belong to Jack.

Despite neither being in sight, their voices continued to echo off the walls, growing louder as time passed.

"I'm not listening!" Zeo screamed, putting his hands around his ears to block out the noise.

"You won't be able to save him." Yet another person exclaimed, a certain dryness to their voice.

He looked up to see Faust floating above, white hair swaying despite there being no breeze. He sat on top of the cage smugly, arms wrapped around his knees.

"I will!" Zeo told him fiercely, although his determination was starting to wane out.

Each step he took inching forward was like being shackled, hurting more and more as he grew closer.

The voices around him persisted, howling and screaming, but he kept his movements steady, not backing down.

A beam of light shot down, creating a translucent stair case for him to climb. As he started to ascend upwards, dark shadows began to claw at him.

Drops of blood stained the clear steps, dripping from deep scratches that now covered his body.

All of his senses were being pressed to the absolute limit. His clothes were tattered and his body was sore.

By the time Zeo reached the top he was practically on his knees, barely able to stand.

Faust tilted his head to the side with interest, although he kept his feelings unintelligible.

"Let him go." Zeo whispered weakly, staring up at him.

Faust seemed to muse over the thought before hopping down and entering into Toby's cage.

He wrapped his arm around Toby's waist and placed his arm underneath his chin to make sure he was staring at Zeo.

"What if I don't feel like it?" Faust yawned, seeming unimpressed.

"Then I'll make sure you do!" Zeo growled, attempting to crawl over.

Toby tried to say something again but Faust quickly slid his fingers over Toby's mouth to keep him from talking.

"Just quit already." Faust snapped, surprisingly showing anger.

Zeo stared up from his position, fists clenched as the thought burned through his mind. Quit? He may have not been the strongest blader or the greatest friend. He blamed himself for Toby ending up having to get an arrangement. But there wasn't a mere possibility of him ever giving up, he cared about his friend too much...

"Not a chance." Zeo spoke with a small smirk, the fire in his eyes regaining. He was not leaving without Toby.

Faust shrugged indifferently, snapping his fingers for the shadowy hands that lurked about to attack.

Zeo struggled to fight them off, using the last bit of strength that he had to keep them from swallowing him up.

With that distraction, Toby was able to free himself from Faust's grasp and run over to Zeo, outstretching his hand.

Their fingers were literally inches away from touching but not close enough. In Zeo's mind, everything was finished, there was nothing more he could do. And as he closed his eyes, he could hear Toby's delicate voice murmuring.

_"Wake up."_

Zeo panted as he sat up, covered in light sweat as he struggled to breath. He was truly lost in an eternal darkness, unable to see anything around him.

"Are you alright?' Toby whispered from somewhere nearby.

"I can't see." Zeo whimpered, surprised when his voice came out hoarse.

"Well not with a blanket over your head." Toby laughed, one hand behind his head.

"Huh?" Zeo gasped, pulling the covers off his head. So it was a blanket keeping everything dark.

He could now see it was still night time outside, and Toby was sitting at the edge of his bed with a smile on his face.

"You were screaming all night." Toby explained, suddenly turning serious.

"I-I'm fine." Zeo whispered, face flushing red as he realized he had a nightmare.

Out of impulse he wrapped his arms around Toby's waist and pulled his down to his side.

Toby blinked his violet eyes in confusion, not understanding why he was holding him so tightly.

"I was afraid I lost you." Zeo whispered, burrowing his head into Toby's shoulder.

"I'm fine, I can take care of my self." Toby pronounced wryly as he rolled his eyes.

"Promise?" Zeo asked, lifting his head to face his.

"Yes." Toby nodded, staring back into his eyes as he leaned forward and the two gently locked lips.

Even if Toby said he'd be safe, Zeo still preferred when he was in his arms.

_Don't know what you just read? Me neither, I got bored ... ^^ Distraction stories are the best remedy for writers block XD Hope you liked~ lily_


End file.
